(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook
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001-144_41057 2.indd 101 24/4/14 7:20 pm100 The Drawing Club(Text)
ExErcisE:Digital sketchbook
Unquestionably our lives have changed because of digital me-
dia. Taking pictures and hoping I had enough film with me feels
like a distant memory now with digital photos. Reading books
and news on our computers has become commonplace. So when
everything you do seems to revolve around the computer, is it
harder for you to get motivated to draw in a sketchbook?
Many artists consider their trusty sketchbook with real paper
in it irreplaceable. If anything, it represents a space where digi-
tal has no influence. I have a lot of respect for those artists, and
I can relate to where they are coming from. But I can also see
the advantages of carrying around a digital sketchbook: conve-
nience, invisible storage, an unlimited supply of materials, and
the ability to delete bad drawings like they never existed.If you like drawing with a pencil,
start out with a digital tool that most
resembles a pencil.
Rich Tuzon has carried traditional sketchbooks around for
years. Yet he did these drawings on his iPad. A lot of people I
know are drawing more and more with a digital sketchbook.
If you want to try using your iPad, tablet PC, or laptop as a
digital sketchbook, start out by trying to do something you are
already familiar with in traditional media. For example, if you
like drawing with a pencil, start out with a digital tool that most
resembles a pencil. It will feel similar, but different. As you
work with it, you will discover what it can and can’t do. You can
do perfect erasing, but you may not be able to get used to the
feeling of the plastic surface versus drawing on actual paper.
Notice how Rich’s digital drawings look like ink drawings
with a brush. It’s important to note that Rich draws beautifully
using real ink and real brushes. He just happens to carry around
his iPad more than his regular sketchbook these days.
If using a tablet or laptop as your sketchbook keeps you moti-
vated to draw, then it is a great sketchbook.ExErcisE:Make your own
Over the years, I have had lots of different kinds of sketch-
books. Big ones, small ones, thick paper, toned paper, light
paper, and dark paper. You name it, I probably have had one.
One of the reasons I had so many different kinds of sketchbooks
is because depending on what I was trying to do, I needed to
use one sketchbook versus another. I needed heavy paper for
wet media, for example, and then I’d switch to the toned paper
for dark and light pencils. I always wished I had one sketch-
book with everything I like to use already in it. Too bad nobody
makes one.
Well, here’s a solution. Forrest Card likes to collect all his fa-
vorite kinds of paper to draw or paint on and bind them together
to make his own custom sketchbook. You can either learn to
bind the sketchbook yourself, or you can have it bound at your
local copy center. The pages can be grouped together in sections
for each kind of paper, or you can arrange the sheets randomly
so you can respond spontaneously each time you turn a page to
start a new drawing.
Putting your own sketchbook together can help you figure out
your preferences for materials because you are always respond-
ing to something different. I like the way it makes you more
versatile.Tron, digital on iPad,
Rich TuzonCabaret Singer, digital on iPad,
Rich Tuzon1960s Fashion, digital on iPad,
Rich Tuzon(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook
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101(Text)
Rich Tuzon has carried traditional sketchbooks around for
years. Yet he did these drawings on his iPad. A lot of people I
know are drawing more and more with a digital sketchbook.
If you want to try using your iPad, tablet PC, or laptop as a
digital sketchbook, start out by trying to do something you are
already familiar with in traditional media. For example, if you
like drawing with a pencil, start out with a digital tool that most
resembles a pencil. It will feel similar, but different. As you
work with it, you will discover what it can and can’t do. You can
do perfect erasing, but you may not be able to get used to the
feeling of the plastic surface versus drawing on actual paper.
Notice how Rich’s digital drawings look like ink drawings
with a brush. It’s important to note that Rich draws beautifully
using real ink and real brushes. He just happens to carry around
his iPad more than his regular sketchbook these days.
If using a tablet or laptop as your sketchbook keeps you moti-
vated to draw, then it is a great sketchbook.Mess it up first
Has this ever happened to you? You get all excited about get-
ting a new sketchbook, but you have a hard time getting started
drawing in it because it’s so new and perfect that it’s actually
kind of intimidating. It just sits there waiting to be used. You
know that once you get started drawing in it, the problem will go
away, but that first step can be difficult. I can honestly say this
has happened to me.
Here is a tip from Forrest Card that works every time. Take
that brand-new, perfect sketchbook, and mess it up. I’m not say-
ing you should destroy it, but make it less perfect right from the
start. Throw it around, put a bunch of stickers on it, scribble all
over the first page. Any and all of these things work great! It sets
a tone that you don’t always have to be perfect when you use it.ExErcisE:Make your own
Over the years, I have had lots of different kinds of sketch-
books. Big ones, small ones, thick paper, toned paper, light
paper, and dark paper. You name it, I probably have had one.
One of the reasons I had so many different kinds of sketchbooks
is because depending on what I was trying to do, I needed to
use one sketchbook versus another. I needed heavy paper for
wet media, for example, and then I’d switch to the toned paper
for dark and light pencils. I always wished I had one sketch-
book with everything I like to use already in it. Too bad nobody
makes one.
Well, here’s a solution. Forrest Card likes to collect all his fa-
vorite kinds of paper to draw or paint on and bind them together
to make his own custom sketchbook. You can either learn to
bind the sketchbook yourself, or you can have it bound at your
local copy center. The pages can be grouped together in sections
for each kind of paper, or you can arrange the sheets randomly
so you can respond spontaneously each time you turn a page to
start a new drawing.
Putting your own sketchbook together can help you figure out
your preferences for materials because you are always respond-
ing to something different. I like the way it makes you more
versatile.Homemade sketchbook bound with with different kinds of paper, Forrest Card
Club Tips
■■ Take that brand new, perfect sketchbook, and mess it up. Scribble all over the first
page, put stickers on it, whatever. Then it won’t seem so intimidating.
■■ Make your own sketchbook by binding different kinds of paper together. It may help
you figure out your preferences for materials.
■■ To get comfortable using a sketchbook, draw in one for at least ten minutes a day.
Taking sToCk
■■Is your sketchbook a storage space or a personal space? What do you want it to be?
■■ Are you working hard because you enjoy drawing and want to get better at it or just
doing the minimum?
■■ Do you ever go back and look at your sketchbook to see where you’ve been and where
you’re headed?Chapter 7: Sketchbooks(Fogra 29) Job:11-41057 Title:Drawing club Handbook
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